Antique 1890s WMF WMFB Silver Plated Britannia Metal Floral Sugar Bowl Sucrier Jugendstil

Antique WMF Silver Plated Britannia Metal Covered Sugar Bowl / Sucrier – c.1890s

A beautiful and highly decorative antique covered sugar bowl or sucrier by the renowned German manufacturer Württembergische Metallwarenfabrik (WMF), dating to approximately the 1890s.

The piece has a wonderfully sculptural design, with deeply modelled floral and foliate decoration extending around the body. Particularly lovely are the two sweeping handles, each incorporating raised flower-head details, together with the matching floral decoration to the lid.

The underside carries the early WMFB manufacturer’s mark. The B denotes Britannia metal, the base metal used by WMF for this piece, which was subsequently silver plated. It also carries the O plating mark, associated with WMF’s heavier grade of silver plating.

The combination of the early marks and late 19th-century naturalistic decoration makes this a particularly appealing example of early WMF decorative metalware, produced during the period leading into the company’s celebrated Jugendstil / Art Nouveau work.

It retains a wonderfully aged surface and patina which gives the floral relief considerable depth and character.

Details

Maker: WMF – Württembergische Metallwarenfabrik
Country of origin: Germany
Date: Circa 1890s
Period: Late 19th century
Material: Silver plated Britannia metal
Mark: WMFB with O plating mark
Height: approx. 11.5 cm
Width: approx. 13 cm at widest point
Depth: approx. 8.5 cm
Weight: approx. 310 g
Original fitted lid

Condition

Good antique condition with considerable character from age and use.

There is some age-related surface wear, tarnishing and patination, together with a degree of warping/distortion to the form. This is visible in the photographs but does not detract from the wonderful decorative appearance of the piece.

Please study all photographs carefully as they form an important part of the description and show the condition, surface and maker’s marks in detail.

A striking and increasingly difficult-to-find piece of early WMF German decorative metalware, ideal for a collector of WMF, Jugendstil, Art Nouveau or late Victorian design.